Relax Without Vacation Costs

One measure of a civilization’s progress is the way the cost of relaxing keeps going up.

Let’s see– movies, sports, amusement parks, electronic games, vacations… Not only are these things that we buy in order to relax expensive but they often add even more tension to our lives because we often become tense trying to figure out how to pay for them. Some things just don’t make sense to me.

We really don’t have to “buy in” (no pun intended : ) to all of this. There are still many ways to relax without spending money. Here are a few:

Go to the park. My grandkids love going to the park to play on the swings and slides. They also love playing a game of baseball or just kicking a ball.
Lay on the grass with the kids and watch the clouds or roll down a grassy hill. Play tag or float twigs in a creek.
The kids still love to be pulled in a wagon, to go on a picnic or just to go on a walk with “Nan” (me) or mom and dad.

(Our kids pulling each other around in the wagon. Aren’t they cute??? -Tawra)
Curl up with a good book or work on some hand sewing, put together a puzzle or make homemade crafts. Toss in a glass of lemonade and a plate of cookies and you have it made.
Get out in the garden. My daughter finds gardening so relaxing and I even find pulling weeds relaxing.
How about sitting on a porch swing with hubby at the end of a long day just talking and drinking an ice cold glass of tea?
Go for a hike, either in the mountains, around your neighborhood or exploring your town.
Lay under the trees on lawn chairs visiting with friends, neighbors or family– What a concept!
Girls in the family give each other a manicure or pedicure
Boys just sit back and play video games for awhile and just enjoy it.

You really don’t have to do something expensive to relax– only something different from the norm. Think of that this summer when you’re planning your vacation. Maybe staying home doing nothing but spending time together, sleeping in, not wearing make up or shaving for a week (although please do brush your teeth) or wearing extra comfy clothes all day would be much more relaxing than an action packed trip somewhere.

Give mom a break, too. Let your one splurge be on a few convenience foods and snacks to make things easy for mom. It would still cost much less than going away on a trip someplace.

Don’t forget dad and give him a break also. Mow the yard at the beginning of your vacation and then forget it until you are off of vacation, unless dad really loves mowing.

Don’t worry about all the things you need to get done. If you were gone on vacation, they wouldn’t get done anyway. Just relax. Enjoy each other.

Vacations are supposed to help us relax but how often do we come home from them exhausted. Duhhhh! There is something wrong with this picture. It doesn’t have to cost a lot for you to be able to relax and, believe it or not, it isn’t a sin to relax and just do nothing sometimes. God even highly recommends it. (It’s in the ten commandments!)

-Jill

Photo By: Isaac and Aaron Goldberg